This forum is an un-mediated, patient-to-patient forum for questions and support regarding herpes issues such as: Herpes symptoms and treatments, causes, diagnosis, and herpes in men, tests, telling your spouse or partner.

HSV 2 - Safe Sex

I am a 59 yr old female in excellent health. Entering into new relationship I thought it would be prudent to have an STD panel run. Much to my chagrin I tested positive for HSV 2 and was blown away to learn just how common this condition is found in both men and women. How do I best protect my partner from infection during manual stimulation, oral sex and vaginal sex? Is it possible for my partner to become infected through unprotected oral sex or vaginal sex when there are no symptoms present? Would Rx therapy be helpful? I take Lysine+, Echinacea, Zinc, Selenium, Vit D3 and a variety of other vitimin supplements daily. Your comments will be deeply appreciated.

I can best help you if you get a copy of your blood test results to post here so that I can be sure you were properly tested and don't need further testing to confirm your status - e.g. hsv1 igg 5.9 and hsv2 igg 2.8 or whatever your results are is all I need to see.

Has your partner been tested to know their status too?

lysine isn't really effective for herpes at all. none of the other supplements you mentioned do anything for herpes either.

If your partner is male and you do nothing but avoid sex anytime you have anything genitally going on, your partner is 96% likely each year NOT to contract hsv2 from you. If you also take daily suppressive therapy and use condoms properly, his risk is reduced to him being 99% likely each year of NOT contracting hsv2 from you.

Thank you so much for your informative response to my question. The test results I have are as follows: HSV 1 IGG Type specific AB 5.00 H.

To my knowledge my partner has not had an STD panel run.

Are there any natural immune boosters that may be of benefit in suppressing symptoms as opposed to Rx therapy? Is one specific daily suppressive therapy proven to be more effective than others? I have read that daily suppresives are not always beneficial if you are not experiencing frequent symptoms and one report reflected that women over 50 do not often experience symptoms.

Perhaps I am just in panic mode since I received my test results, but I keep feeling all I can describe as a "different" sensation in one specific spot in my genital area. I check myself several times a day to make sure there is nothing there that even remotely resembles blistering, redness, or anything that doesn't look normal. Is there a specific medical field that specializes in HSV where I might seek out a physician for a physical exam and perhaps subsequent Rx therapy?

Thank you again for your assistance with this very sensitive and disturbing issue

your partner will need testing done too to see what their status is. you can't make informed decisions about what precautions to take in a relationship until you know who has what.

boosting your immune system doesn't seem to do anything for herpes.

Daily suppressive therapy with valtrex or acyclovir, even when you aren't having symptoms, has been shown to reduce shedding of the virus significantly - 80-90% on average. The less often you shed the virus, the less likely your partner will come in contact with it. Famvir doesn't seem to work quite as well in folks who aren't having obvious recurrences but it does also still work very well too.

it's completely normal to start feeling like you have herpes symptoms after finding out you are hsv2+. think of it as when you spent a weekend with a bunch of children and get a phone call the next week warning you that they all just found out that they have lice - what's the first thing you do? you start scratching your head non-stop....lol. No need to check yourself several times a day though - not worth the time and effort!

your regular provider can help you with treating your herpes . no real specialists to see for herpes. It's very common and once you hit your age group, 1 out of every 3 adults has it genitally!

Good morning and thank you again for your prompt and informative response to my questions. I am now beginning to feel less like I should be locked away somewhere due to this dreadful condition lol.

I am embarrassed to admit that the test results I gave you were not only incomplete, but incorrect. Must have had my mind on something else at the time! Following is what appears on the STD panel report with respect to HSV 1 and 2:

HSV 1/2 IGG, HERPESELECT
TYPE SPECIFIC AB

HSV 1 TYPE SPECIFIC
AB 5.00 H

I will suggest to my partner that he get tested soon although I'm not sure I understand the significance in doing so. Since I am HSV2+ and we are aware of same, how will it make a difference if he is also HSV2+, or not?

Daily suppressive therapy is certainly something I would do, however, insurance companies are all over this type of thing these days and having an Rx on my med file for an STD could prove disasterous. I was actually turned down for personal ins due to an on file Rx for Lunesta of all things! Do you know of any way to secure an Rx that I could perhaps fill thru a Canadian pharmacy?

Again, thank you so much for your guidance with respect to this issue. I have had a limited number of sexual partners during my lifetime and am still stunned that I somehow managed to contract this nasty condition. Your advice and support are deeply appreciated.

Just checked my posting and it dropped the HSV 1 results. Must be a glitch on the MedHelp site as I was certain I had included all appropriate info on my prior message. HSV 1 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC - AB <0.90

if your partner is hsv2+, then you don't have to worry about precautions to reduce transmission. If he's negative, then you can discuss together what precautions to take to reduce the risk of him contracting hsv2 from you.

the new insurance laws will make it harder for insurances to turn you down for anything. Acyclovir and valtrex are prescription only so your options are limited. It's way too cheap to get it in your regular pharmacy with your insurance to make it worth paying lots of money online for a questionable source there.

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